ITS AUGUST! HOLIDAY TIME!! YESTERDAY AND A BIT MORE

Champions League 15th AUGUST 2017: Liverpool struggled a little against the South-western German Bundesliga club "Turn und-Sportgemeinschaft 1899" more likely known as TSG1899-Hoffenheim E.V. for short. The Bundesliga club plays at the Wirsol Rhein-Neckar Arena which holds just over 30,100 crowd.  As it happens a stunning free kick by debutant right back Trent Alexander-Arnold helped them out!  The German side had not lost at home all through last season, so a good result for the "Pool".

The club formed in August 1899 as a gymnastics' club, with 20 young men who met in two pubs,the "Zum Engel" (at the angel) and the "Zum Rossee" (at the sea??). As the winter kicked in (so to speak) the lads chose to run around a bit more outside and hence the introduction of a football!  The Fusballverein formed in 1921 and by 1945 the gym club, Turnverein Hoffenheim merged with the footballers. In the 1990s the club was in the 8th division, playing as an amateur.

Hoffenheim is described as a "village" in Baden Wurttemberg (state capital is Stuttgart) and hosted a club in the 5th Division of the German league in 2000. With an investment from financial wizard and software entrepreneur, Dietmat Hopp, the club has risen through the German ranks to the Bundesliga by 2008. In 2016-17 they came 4th in the division and thereby qualify to play against Liverpool.
http://www.achtzehn99.de/tsg-en-us/history/

Following an injury strewn career with Munchen and Augsburg, TSG's manager Julian Nagelsmann, took charge of TSG after reading a Business degree and then a Sports' Science degree at university. He has been described as a "Mini Mourinho" and at 28 years old he is the youngest manager in the Bundesliga. His career record at that level is Played 50 Won 24 and Drawn 16. He was German Manager of the Year in 2017.

August 1957 was the month that a British Football League player ,William John Charles left home to play for Juventus for a fee of £65,000. This was an amount twice the previous record spent by Real Madrid on John Fox Watson of Fulham, one of the few early international transactions from an British league club and of course Charles opened the flood gates, with Jimmy Greaves, Gerry Hitchin, Dennis  Law and others heading south (for a while).

Watson was a Scot who had played local football as a youngster and then signed for Bury FC pre-war. He lost a few years being called up and then he joined Fulham, went to Real Madrid briefly, came back to Crystal Palace and ended up at Canterbury City (Kent!).

I have given John Charles quite a bit of space in a previous blog, which you should read. He was an outstanding player and gentleman. The Gentle Giant.
http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/with-il-gigante-buono-wales-might-have.html

Taken from his local side Gendros in Wales, he trialled at Leeds and was signed on in September 1948 by Major Frank Buckley and making his debut in front of a small appreciative crowd against Queen of the South in a friendly.

The result was 0-0 which does not sound too exciting, but Charles was still a teenager and he snuffed out Billy Houliston, a Scottish international who, 10 days earlier, had run England riot at Wembley in front of over 98,000, helping the Scots to a 3-1 victory.

Houliston played 120 games after the war, in the Scottish league and scored 60 goals. His robust style of play unsettled the England defenders and he scored 5 goals in 7 appearances for his country. He did not upset JC in the friendly, however.

The remarkable link is that Charles was scouted and then joined Leeds Utd in 1948 managed by the POMO (KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?) man, Major Franklin Charles Buckley. Buckley managed clubs from 1919 including Norwich, Blackpool, Wolves, Hull, Leeds and finally Walsall through till 1955.

The Major was responsible for the development of the Position Of Maximum Possibility, a style of play adopted by Graham Taylor, John Beck and David Bassett and others. Basically Long Ball!

John Charles, between 1948 and 1974, played 715 matches scoring 370 goals, remembering that he could play anywhere, he often found himself at centre half, whihc makes that tally all the more impressive. His career took him from Juve to Leeds again, briefly, Roma, Cardiff City, Hereford Utd as player-manager and then Merthyr Town and finally Hamilton Steelers in Canada. He died in February 2004 aged 72.

JC represented Wales 38 times scoring 15 times and  was never cautioned or sent off!!

DEANE AND HIS HISTORY STORY!!

15 August 1992

ON THIS DAY 34 years ago, the first ever Premier League goal was scored by Sheffield United striker Brian Deane, who netted in the 5th minute of the Blades' opening day match against Manchester United.

He also scored with a penalty kick in the 50th minute, propelling the Blades to a 2-1 win.

Deane went on to say of the goal, "I found out I had scored the first goal at half-time but it didn't really feel like a big thing at the time." So modest!!

On 16 January 1993, Deane scored a hat trick against Ipswich Town in a 3–0 league victory, making him one of the first!! players to score a hat-trick in the Premier League.

Manchester United recovered from their poor start, however, claiming the inaugural Premier League title. Sheffield United finished in 14th position!!

Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1988	Doncaster Rovers	66	(12)
1988–1993	Sheffield United	197	(82)
1993–1997	Leeds United	138	(32)
1997–1998	Sheffield United	24	(11)
1998	Benfica	18	(7)
1998–2001	Middlesbrough	87	(18)
2001–2003	Leicester City	52	(19)
2003–2004	West Ham United	26	(6)
2004–2005	Leeds United	31	(6)
2005	Sunderland	4	(0)
2005	Perth Glory	7	(1)
2005–2006	Sheffield United	2	(0)
Total		652	(194)
International career
1991	England B	3	(0)
1991–1992	England	3	(0)

After a short spell at Sunderland, he signed for Perth Glory in the Australian A-League. He left mid-season after failing to make an impact and sustaining a long-term injury, scoring once in seven appearances. He stated that he did not want to prevent Perth Glory from signing another striker due to salary cap and squad size restrictions imposed by the league. 

After leaving, Deane re-signed for the third time at Sheffield United making him one of the only players to have signed three times. In December 2005 he made two substitute appearances before retiring at the beginning of the 2006–07 season, after the Blades had won promotion back to the Premier League following a 12-year exile.

HARDAKER, UNITED, MUNICH, CUP

Following on from the Munich Air Disaster in February 1958, when eight United players were killed, Red Star Belgrade suggested that FIFA should postpone that season's European Cup tournament. It was also suggested that posthumously United should be anointed as the "Honorary Champions Of Europe" for that season. Needless to say, UEFA did not agree to this but the tournament continued with the "stiff shirts" of the European Governing Body not completely supportive of the idea. Rocognising the terrible price that United had suffered, they offered a place in the following tournament, even though United had not won the English League!

Matt Busby, the United Manager, accepted such a generous offer, BUT the Football League immediately informed him that as the club was not a champion winning side, they could not accept.Hardaker had managed to convince Chelsea to "bale out" the year before. His opinion of the tournament could be gleaned as from an "unguarded aside" he gave the renowned newspaper football writer, Brian Glanville, that he did not much enjoy dealing with football on the continent: "Too may wogs and dagoes!" he announced.

Busby appealed against thre "diktat" to the FA, who came to the conclusion that the League had NO POWER to stop Uited from competing and gave the club the go ahead. On August 13th, Hardaker "went to war!", demanding a meeting with the FA to argue his opinion and after a fortnight of having their own "rule book" waved in their face behind closed doors, the FA caved in! On August 31st United were banned from entering the tournament.

Hardaker later argued that he was protecting the Football League from fixture congestion, but many interpreted his motived in another way.....Bobby Charlton said "He was making it as difficult for the man who had defied him with his insistence that United would fight on this "new frontier of football".

United did not compete in the European Cup again until 1965!

THE SUPER CUP

 In the wake of the Heysel tragedy, English League clubs were banned from competing in UEFA competitions. So, the English League inaugurated the Super Cup, a tournament designed to fill the calendar for the club s that would have normally qualified for European competitions. In principal this was a good idea but it proved to be a shambolic failure, that achieved nothing!

Six clubs were invited to participate: Everton who would have played in the European Cup. Manchester Utd, FA Cup winners, denied a FA Cup Winners Cup jaunt, Norwich City the League Cup Winners-actually relegated! who could have played in the UEFA Cup and Liverpool, Spurs and Southampton whose League places would have deserved a place at the competition.

The SIX teams were placed in two groups of three, so that one "bottom" team would be eliminated  early on. The remaining four clubs would meet in two Semi-finals which seemed a good idea. In reality it proved to be a bit complicated!! It caused a farcical fixture congestion.

Liverpool and Everton both reached the FA Cup Final! AND the semi-finals of the League Cup, so had to postpone and rearrange fixtures. As the Merseysiders would be the two teams to eventually reach the final, the denouement to the Super Cup had to be held over until the following season as the 1985-6 campaign could not be extended due to the upcoming World Cup in Mexico.

By the time Liverpool won the two-legged final 7-2 on aggregate in September 1986, the tournament had already be shelved, the competition had already been shelved, destined to be a "one-off". Liverpool ran out comfortable victors in the belated showpiece, Ian Rush providing five of their goals as they won 3-1 at Anfield and then 4-1 at Goodison Park to claim the trophy.

Everton's supine (lazy!)display in the final ties may be put down to the (possibly apocryphal) story which manager Howard Kendall sending his team out for one Super Cup match having told them that the whole thing was a "waste of time"!! Not so good for the sponsors??

CHARITY? NOT REALLY!

 

10th August 1974
The Charity Shield match between Leeds and Liverpool was the first to be played at Wembley and the first to be decided on penalties but it is best remembered for the sending off of Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan!!

The 1974 FA Charity Shield match was the 52nd in history, an annual English Association Football match played between the winners of the previous season's Football League First Division and FA Cup. The match was contested by Leeds Utd, the champions of the 1973-4 First Division (top Football League division in those days), and Liverpool, the 1973-4 FA Cup winners. It was held at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, 10 August 1974. Watched by a crowd of 67,000, the match ended in a 1–1 draw and was decided by a penalty shoot out which was won 6–5 by Liverpool.

The game was the first in which Bob Paisley and Brian Clough managed Liverpool and Leeds respectively. In recognition of his services to the club, Liverpool asked their recently retired manager Bill Shankly to lead the team out onto the field.

The match is mostly remembered for Billy Bremner and Kevin Keegan being jointly dismissed from the field by referee Bob Matthewson in the 60th minute after they had a fight. Keegan, who claimed provocation, was furious about being sent off, and threw his shirt away. Bremner copied him, and the two players were afterwards charged with bringing football into disrepute. The FA Disciplinary Committee imposed tough punishments, but were themselves heavily criticised by people in football who doubted their competence.

Football On This Day – 10th August 1977
Liverpool signed Kevin Keegan’s replacement at Anfield – Kenny Dalglish. The Scot was bought from Celtic for £440,000 and became a Liverpool legend.

Football On This Day – 10th August 2003
Football finally arrived at the City of Manchester Stadium – then Eastlands – after its conversation from the stadium that staged the 2002 Commonweath Games. Manchester City’s first match was a friendly against Barcelona with Nicolas Anelka scoring the first goal at the ground in City’s 2-1 victory.

ESCAPE TO VICTORY

In the World War II film "Escape to Victory" prisoners included Pele, Bobby Moore, Ossie Ardiles and Russell Osman (ok not quite such a star player)! Release date July 30th 1981 (USA)

These "chaps" played a Nazi side at the camp, as part of the propaganda tournament, which presumably had the prize as "victory" in a "Death Match"...is that clear? TJhe film was loosely based on the legend of occupied Ukraine's FC Start, a club that was said to have challenged a German all stars team in 1942. The Start lads were told at half time, when they were leading..."Well done, you've played good soccer and we appreciate it. But now in the second half you have to lose! You must, This is an order. If you don't lose, you'll be shot! FC Start ignored the diktat, score three more before the break and went to a mass grave at Baby Yar.

The truth was a biot more complex for during 1942, Start consisted mainly of former Soviet professionals from the temporarily disbanded Dynamo Kiev! They played several matches against occupying soldiers and won them all convincingly, winning once 11-0. It was at this point the Nazi administration ordered a high profile match against a German team, Flakelf and appointed an SS officer as Ref and intimated that should Start win there would be severe repercussions. Nevertheless, Start won 5-3! The final indignity for the Nazis coming when the "prisoner" defender Klimenko rounded the German keeper in the last seconds of the match but in stead of rolling the ball into the net for a sixth, he contemptuously kicked the ball back up the pitch!

A week later, following another match which the inmates won 8-0, the team was rounded up and sent to the Siretz Labout Camp where five of the team were tortured and shot. Some historians question the accuracy of the match reporting suggesting a "romanticised myth" but one thing is certain FC Start, unlike Pele, and hjis team mates, there was no Hollywood reception after!!

The film received great attention upon its theatrical release, as it starred professionals Bobby Moore and Osvaldi Ardiles, Mike Summerbee and Pelé. Numerous Ipswich Town players were also in the film, including John Wark, Russell Osman, Laurie Sivell, Robin Turner and Kevin O'Callaghan. Other Ipswich Town players stood in for actors in the football scenes: Kevin Beattie for Michael Caine, and Paul Cooper for Sylvester Stallone. Yabo Yablonsky wrote the script and the film was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival.

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT. ALFIE?

Alfie Whiteman signed with the Spurs Academy, aged 10, in 2009. He won a professional contract in 2019 and was member of the club's Europa squad in 2025. He made ONE first team appearance against Ludogorets from Bulgaria in 2020. He decided that he had had enough with the limited chances available so he picked up his camera and left his gloves behind!a jetty

A year later, after that Europa Trophy, he has his first exhibition, named as "A Loan" and hung at the OOF Gallery within the Tottenham stadium. This offers an intimate portrait of a time in his career. Through self portraits, diary entries and a life-size reconstruction of a sauna where he spent time reflecting on his future, he documents grappling with questions about his future on and off the pitch.

He hangs out of a launderette machine, mooning the camera! **** In another he sits naked on a jetty overlooking Loch Mockeln; not quite what you would expect from a man who had spent most of his life in the highly structured environment of an elite football club. Sorry not printing these!!

He lived near the Spurs' stadium and his life style was not completely one that was going to lead him into the professional game BUT he joined Spurs as a child and climbed the ranks in the club. While this was going on he had the burning desire to consider life outside the professional game. He had to consider the sacrifices, the competition, the cut throat nature of the game having to make up his mind about this ambition or something else! In his social circle he met directors, producers and creatives who gradually made him think about life after football. He spent time shadowing and assisting people who could help him build foundations for the day he wanted to follow another "career".

He hosted a radio show under his mum's maiden name; he acted in a play trying to avoid being defined as a "footballer"! He began to realise the opportunities elsewhere and it was in Sweden that helped him reflect, living in a small town, surrounded by forests and that helped him slow down and look inwards.  a tranquil lake!! "A liberating peace when self portraits emerged "almost accidently". 

Worth clicking on this link!!
https://inews.co.uk/culture/arts/alfie-whiteman-played-tottenham-quit-26-photographer-4662718